Where do twins fit into the birth order equation? Psychologists agree that birth order characteristics are most often imprinted within the first few years of life. However, with twins, there is usually only a matter of minutes between births, not years. Does any significant event happen in those few minutes that would influence the individual child's perception of his or her position within the family? Not usually.
Who's "on" first?
Birth order for twins isn't necessarily preordained, either. The babies' order of birth is determined by their position in the womb, which can change throughout pregnancy. In some cases, which baby is born first depends on how the mother delivers; the order might be switched if the mother had a Cesarean section rather than vaginal delivery.
So how do you explain the manifestation of birth order characteristics in the personalities of individual multiples? Certainly there are many examples of twin sets where the first born twin is a dominant leader and the second born is a subdued follower. Is that because of their birth order or is some other factor at work?
What the experts say
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of specific research available on this subject. However, many birth order experts agree that twins tend to organize themselves according to their overall place within the family. For example, if they have one older sibling, they will both exhibit characteristics of a second born. If they are the oldest, they will adopt some traits of first firstborns.
However, Cliff Isaacson, author of The Birth Order Effect as well as the website Birth Order Plus, further believes that birth order traits in twins are also impacted by their status as twins. He explains, "The organization seems to result from one of the twins being dominant, resulting in that one having the older Birth Order. It does not seem to have much relevance to the order in which they were actually born. The Birth Order personalities of twins are often more intense than in normal Birth Order. Because they are the same age and capability, the dominant one has to work harder at being dominant thus reinforcing the Birth Order personalities of both."
When strangers realize that my twins truly don't know who was born first, they often try to guess based on their perceptions. "You must be born first, you are -- fill in the blank here -- taller/have longer hair/are more outgoing than your sister," they say, trying to pinpoint a dominant characteristic. What they don't realize is that by tomorrow, the sisters may have switched these traits! Psychologists agree that twins often exchange dominance throughout their lives, and in that sense may alternate between birth order categories.
